The Road Less Traveled

A/N: Typically, not all of my stories are going to be depressing, but for this one, it will be… My first attempt for writing a zombie story, so hopefully this will go well….

XXX

"Can you tell me a story?" Small fingers tugged on the hem of his shirt. Pale blues eyes stared quizzically up into darker ones.

"What sort of story?" He asked, setting aside the pen and paper he had been writing on and moving over on the couch to give her room.

The girl clambered up to sit next to him, tucking her feet up against her, "A good one," She said simply.

He paused thinking for a moment. He reached out and tugged on a lock of her dark hair, "How about Romeo and Juliet?" He suggested, "The Star-Crossed Lovers with a tragic ending." Normally, you wouldn't think of telling a child such a story, but this one seemed to be a big fan of Shakespeare's work, even if she had trouble reading it herself.

She shook her head, "That story is sad. I want a good one."

He smiled down at her, "But not all good stories have a happy ending…"

XXX

"Wake up, all of you!" The sharp voice of the Instructor snapped me out of my dreams. I sat up, blinking and rubbing my eyes.

Groans and whines came from either side of me as other girls wake up. The Instructor marched across the room and tore back the curtain that covered the one window. Weak natural light, filtered into the room, shining on the cots that lined the wall and their inhabitants.

"You have 10 minutes," The Instructor, a brown hair lady with deep crows feet, said tersely before walking out of the room.

"Morning," Came a yawn from my left. I turned to smile at a girl with dark curly hair, brown eyes, and mocha colored skin.

"Morning Carmen," I swung my legs around, placing them on the cold tile floor, causing me to shiver.

Carmen smiled and stood up, twisting her tangle of hair into a not at the base of her neck, "Ready for another day?"

"Like I have a choice," I yawned, pulling myself up. I slipped on my socks and tug the way-too-big boots onto my feet. I don't have clothes to sleep in, so I used my day ones: a shirt that has a couple of holes in it and pants that I kept up with a tightly cinched belt.

I've pretty much gotten use to looking like an unwanted orphan by now.

Carmen stands next to me and helps me put my hair into a braid to keep it out of my face, "What do you think the Instructor will teach today?"

"Probably the same thing as yesterday. And the day before that." We all knew that the so called Instructor was simply a volunteer who knew less about education then we did. Really, this 'school' was meant to keep kids like us without families from causing trouble in this already messed up city.

I walked over to the window and peered outside. The sun was slowly rising up over the building. Down below in the school's courtyard, the shadows were slowly shrinking back, revealing the cracked concrete below, filled with weeds. As always, I look over at the gate: a twisted monstrosity that seems almost foreboding. As usual, it is locked tight.

"Claire," Carmen called from the doorway, "Let's go before the Instructor comes again."

I nod and follow the girl out of the room. We go down a flight of stairs to the first floor and enter the main hall. Other students, some as young as five and others being seventeen milled about, talking in the usual hushed tones.

I feel an arm wrap around me and I am yanked back against a chest. Looking up, I come face to face with dark grey eyes and a wide grin, "Good morning Claire! Did you sleep well last night?"

"Hardly," I squirmed out of the boy's grasp, making sure to elbow him hard in the ribs, and batted his hands away when he reached for me again, "I know that it was you who was throwing rocks at the window, Luke."

"Me?" The brown hair boy smiled innocently as he rubbed his side, "I would never! I know how you girls need your beauty sleep. And you certainly need it."

"What?" I huffed, "I'm much prettier than your ugly rat face!"

Carmen smiled, "Morning Luke. Where's Ricky at?"

Luke shrugged, "I dunno, I thought he was ditching today and snuck out."

I frowned. That didn't sound like Ricky at all, "You sure?'

"Well, where else could he be?"

The door of the classroom opens and the Instructor's voice drifts out, "Alright all of you, get in here."

We move in. There isn't enough students here for us to have actual classes, so all twenty-five of us are taught by the same person. The Instructor waits for us to get settled, her arms folded. The smaller children sit up front, while the older ones sit in the back. Carmen, Luke and I file into the back row, the usually occupied seat next to Luke, empty.

"Before we begin today's lessons," This gets a snicker from half the class, which the Instructor ignores and continues, "I have an announcement. Most of you know Ricky Martin." At the mention of our friend, the three of us shared a worried look, "Just so that you know, he turned eighteen this morning, which makes him a legal adult-" A murmur ripples through out the classroom and we three share another glance, this one of shock.

Ricky had come to the school a few years ago. We knew little about him, but he was a good friend to all of us. He was reserved and didn't share much about himself, his age or what happened to his family, but we figured that he was probably the same age as Luke, Carmen, and me. I never thought though, that he was so close to turning of age, or that he would be gone without a word. I didn't even see it coming really, none of us did. Yesterday had been normal. There were no signs from our friend that he would be leaving very soon….

The Instructor's voice rose over our own, "Ricky has made the decision to join the Military force-"

"No way!" Luke, the easy going guy of our group, jumped up, scowling at the woman, "There's now way that he would do that!"

"Sit down, Luke!" She barked.

"Luke!" I hissed, surprised by my friend's actions. I knew that he and Ricky had been close, but I didn't expect for him to react like that. I reached out and tugged on his sleeve; he sat down, still glaring at the front of the room.

"He wouldn't join that group," He muttered, just to us.

"Maybe he didn't. Maybe they forced him," I said, trying to calm him down.

It wouldn't surprise me at all though. Military Headquarters were across the street from us, in a grey building that sent shivers down my spine every time I passed it. I sometimes felt as if the Military was watching us from there and when I was outside, I could feel their eyes on me.

You never cross the Military and lived to tell about it.

"It doesn't make sense though," Carmen murmured. The Instructor had started lessons and wasn't paying attention to us anymore, "Why would he leave with out saying goodbye?"

"He probably didn't get a chance," Luke's hands were clenched in his lap, "They probably dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night. None of us would know about it, because he had the bed closest to the door. The idiot seriously thought that it would be safer to be there so he could get out quicker in case of an emergency."

I chewed on my lip, "You think he'll be fine?"

"Don't worry, they normally don't hurt their trainees… Too much."

"We should see if we can talk to him," Carmen whispered, "Maybe he can explain what happened."

I glanced at her, "Carmen, you're terrified of just walking past the building. What makes you think that you can ask one of those men if you can talk to Ricky?"

The girl lowered her head, not saying anything. We spend the rest of the school day in silence.

XXX

At noon, the Instructor lets us outside to eat. We go to our usual spot to wait for the deliveries of the rations, a tree in the middle of the courtyard. We sit against it, our backs against the rough bark, and face the gate and Military Building. Suddenly, the place feels a whole lot more scary, as if it has literally eaten our friend.

"I hope he's okay," Carmen sighed.

Luke doesn't say anything, so I reached over and squeezed her hand, "He will be," I said confidently, "This is Ricky we're talking about."

"But now he's one of them."

I turned to Luke, frowning, "That doesn't make him any different though. It's not his fault." He simply scoffs and looks away, "Hey, he's your friend, have a little faith in him!" I snapped, getting angry.

"Guys, the food's here." Carmen said softly.

I turned to look. The Instructor was crossing the courtyard, keys in hand. She unlocked the gate and a big delivery truck rolls in. We get up and make our way over to it, standing in the back of the line. Each student is giving something wrapped in paper. When it comes to us, Luke hands me mine and Carmen's without a word. We walk back to the tree in silence.

I unwrap my lunch and groan. Bread and a couple of pieces of meat. Well at least it looks a little fresh, "Yum," I said glumly.

"Wanna trade?" I look over at Luke. A small familiar smile is on his face as holds out his sandwich.

I crack a grin, "Sure." We switched and I take a bite from his sandwich, which is the same as mine. Still though, I sighed, "So much better."

Luke makes a face, "I think you got the better end of the deal this time." We laughed and eventually Carmen joins in.

As the truck rolls away, the Instructor barks at us to quiet down, which just makes us giggle harder. Finally, Carmen stops first and glanced back at the Military HQ, "I would go in that place if it meant that I got to see Ricky." She said determinedly.

"Maybe you would," I smiled at her, "But I don't think our friend would be too pleased if you tried to infiltrate that place just for his sake."

Luke reached over and tousled Carmen's hair, "It's like Claire said," He glanced at me, "This is Ricky we're talking about. Knowing him, he'll sneak out of HQ soon to check up on us."

That never happened. We would never see our friend again, except once. And that is a memory I wish I could forget….

XXX

Fingers poked through the fence-links. Fingers covered in blood and rot. The stench reached her nose, and she wanted to cover her nose, wanted to run, but she was rooted there, terrified out of her mind. Her fingers, clung tightly to a hand, her anchor as she stared at the creatures.

She was safe wasn't she? No, it didn't feel like that. There were the monsters on the other side of the fence, and then the monsters standing on either side of them, with their guns that they hefted up, aiming at the Infected.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

That noise drowned everything else out. She couldn't hear the moans, the screams, the-

"Claire!" I jerked around, eyes wide and breathing heavily. Without knowing it, my hand had clenched into a fist, aimed and- "Ow!" Luke rubbed his jaw, "Easy there!'

"S-sorry," I muttered rubbing my eyes. Really needed to stop dosing off like that.

Carmen placed a hand on my shoulder, obviously concerned, "Are you alright?'

I nod, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure about that?" Luke was still nursing his jaw, as he eyed me warily, "If you want, you can stay here-"

"No," I shook my head, "I wanna go. This is the only day we get out in the city, I'm not gonna spend it here cause of some stupid memory."

Carmen still looked worried, but Luke shrugged, "Alright then, let's go."